his week at EAA Oshkosh two of
humanity’s longest dreams reach
fulfillment, starting with Monday’s first public demonstration of the
Terrafugia folding-wing flying car followed today by Yves “Jetman” Rossy’s
U.S. public demonstration of his jetpowered wings.

PHOTO BY DENNIS BIELA

Both have been a long time coming.
Well before the invention of the automobile humans dreamed of flying—
some fantasizing about machines
they could wear to launch themselves
into the sky.
By the time the Wright brothers
launched the age of powered flight
humans were well on their way to
substituting automobiles for horsepowered transport.
We don’t know how quickly it happened, but it wasn’t a big leap from
Model A’s to dreams of a “flying flivver,” a conveyance that let us decide:
drive or fly?
These incarnations of aviating
dreams are due to make history here
and once again cement EAA’s signature event as The World’s Greatest
Aviation Celebration and show us how
we’re all one step closer to a world
once only seen in The Jetsons. AVT

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PHOTO BY DEKEVIN THORNTON

Joe
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ICON’s A5 gets weight exemption from FAA
By James Wynbrandt
The wing design and a
combination of other
non-visible features work
together to make sure
Icon aircraft do not spin,
according to Icon founder
and CEO Kirk Hawkins.

PHOTO BY MARNO BORIC

I

CON Aircraft, developer of the
amphibious A5 light-sport aircraft
(LSA), announced at EAA Oshkosh
2013 Monday that the FAA granted its
exemption request for a gross weight
increase to accommodate safety features, including a spin-resistant airframe (SRA). The exemption, requested in May 2012, allows the A5’s takeoff
weight to rise as high as 1,680 pounds,
250 pounds above the 1,430-pound
limit for amphibious LSA.
Frank Paskiewicz, FAA’s deputy
director, Aircraft Certification, determined “a grant of exemption is in
the public interest” for the increase
of the A5 maximum takeoff weight
(MTOW). The Grant of Exemption
Number 10829 states, “The FAA believes it achieved an acceptable balance between enabling innovation and
regulating safety in the regulations
covering the certification and operation of light-sport aircraft.”
The FAA also noted that it hadn’t
considered the weight of SRA technology compliant with 14 CFR Part 23
spin-resistance standards in establishing the MTOW for LSA.
“This news is good not just for us,
but all of GA,” said ICON founder and
CEO Kirk Hawkins. “We spent a lot

of time and energy trying to crack the
code on building a spin-resistance aircraft, and that accomplishment took
additional weight.” (Loss of control
due to stall/spin is a leading cause of
fatal GA accidents.)
In pursuit of a safer LSA

A5, introduced at EAA AirVenture
2008, initially was designed to meet
mandated weight limits for LSA; during development the company decided
to make the airframe spin-resistant to
maximize safety.
That objective required increasing the wing size and, consequently,
the empennage, changes that put the
aircraft’s weight over the LSA amphib limit. The initial production A5
will weigh 1,510 pounds, according to
ICON.
A video at the Los Angeles-based
company’s display area (Booth 162 in the
Main Aircraft Display Area) presents a
side-by-side demonstration of stalls involving a Cessna 152 and an ICON SRA
A5 prototype; upon stalling the 152 enters a spin, while the A5 remains wingslevel at a 1,000 fpm descent rate—slower
than a conventional parachute. ICON
also plans to equip the A5 with a BRS
parachute recovery system.

In another safety development from
the fledgling plane maker, the company is showcasing many of the A5’s
design features, including an angle of
attack (AOA) indicator. Prominently
positioned on its instrument cluster,
the AOA indicator gives pilots a simple, clear indication of how close the
aircraft is to a stall, regardless of bank
or pitch angle.
A green light

With its exemption in hand, the
company can proceed with it plans,
Hawkins said. The first four conforming prototypes for certification are

expected to be completed in spring
of 2014. If certification proceeds as
expected, deliveries will commence
in the middle to third quarter of 2014.
The company currently has
more than 900 refundable deposits of $5,000 each. Since launch, the
ICON’s price has risen to $189,000,
$50,000 above initial estimates.
“The airplane’s gotten better, it has
more features, and it costs us more,”
Hawkins told AirVenture Today in an
exclusive interview. “There are probably some customers who’ll say, ‘You
had me at $139,000, but you lost me
somewhere between $139,000 and
$189,000.’ We understand that. We’re
not looking to hold anybody hostage.”
Hawkins noted the company had
never used depositors’ money to fund
operations.
The A5 is designed to appeal to
power sports enthusiasts rather than
the traditional aviation market, and
Hawkins said one-third of depositors
have no aviation experience.
To celebrate its production progress, ICON is reducing the deposit for
a production position from $5,000 to
$2,000 during AirVenture, whether
placed at the show or online. AVT

AirVenture Today is published during EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh 2013, July 29-August 4, 2013. It is distributed
free on the convention grounds as well as other
locations in Oshkosh and surrounding communities.
Stories and photos are copyrighted 2013 by AirVenture
Today and EAA. Reproduction by any means is
prohibited without written consent.

4

AirVenture Today

HondaJet brings two FAA-conforming jets
By Ric Reynolds

“I remember standing here with my
HondaJet surrounded by enthusiastic
aviation fans. The response was truly
overwhelming for me.
“Today I am very pleased that AirVenture has once again provided a setting for another milestone in HondaJet’s history.”

PHOTO BY CHET WEHE

H

onda Aircraft let it be known
last week it planned to bring an
FAA-conforming HondaJet to
Oshkosh opening day.
But it went one better—it brought
two.
Honda Aircraft Company President and CEO Michimasa Fujino took
to the podium with EAA Chairman
Jack Pelton in front of a red jet—the
company’s third FAA-conforming airframe—and a blue one, the fifth of six
aircraft in Honda Aircraft’s certification program.
Oshkosh served as the launching
pad for Honda Aviation, he said. “This
show has a very special meaning for
me, because I introduced the concept
for HondaJet to the world for the first
time at this air show,” Fujino said to
the assembled Oshkosh crowd.

Plane progress
Over the past three years Honda Aircraft has developed and produced six
conforming airframes. Four are used
for flight testing and two for ground
structural testing.
The test fleet maintains a very active flight schedule, and continues to
achieve milestones for FAA certification flight testing.
The red HondaJet made its first flight
in November 2011; it serves mainly to
flight test mechanical systems—brakes,
flight controls, etc. The aircraft was also
used for hot weather testing in Yuma,
Arizona, after first visiting NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to examine the effects of water spray
The blue jet, which flew for the first
time on May 16 this year, is the final
configuration of a customer aircraft
with production interior, Fujino said,
anchoring home stretch in the company’s certification flight testing. The
blue jet will also undertake the FAA

function and reliability testing, usually
the last step of the process.
Plane passion
“I first sketched the HondaJet on the
back of a calendar and Honda engineers took that sketch from the drawing board to the sky,” Fujino explained.
“We come to OSH every year because
we have a deep passion for aviation.
“I see the same passion and aviation spirit in AirVenture. The support
of the aviation community has been
tremendous encouragement to me and
our associates who work on the HondaJet program.”
Pelton said that Honda has “really
defined and recognized what EAA is
all about, that is innovation, pioneering aviation, and that passion that runs
deep through all of us.
“You’re what EAA is all about.”
By the numbers
The HondaJet specs include a maximum cruise speed of 420 knots true
airspeed and a service ceiling of 43,000
feet. After taking off in less than 4,000
feet, it has a 3,990 fpm climb rate and
can land in less than 3,000 feet.
Power for this performance comes
from two GE Honda/HF120 engines,
each generating 2,050 pounds of
thrust. AVT

PHOTO BY CHET WEHE

Consumable parts for
virtually every aircraft make and model,
including our competitors’.

The twin R2800
engines have
just ticked to
a simultaneous halt as
crewmembers
greet pilot
Steve Hinton,
who delivered
Jim Slatteryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
F7F Tigercat to
AirVenture 2013
on Sunday.

PHOTO BY FREDERICK A. JOHNSEN

Polishing the aluminum to a high sheen, Eric Fatla of Brookfield, Wisconsin,
prepared a PT-22 trainer for show at AirVenture on Sunday morning.

PHOTO BY JASON TONEY

EAA Chairman Jack Pelton and Rose, his wife,
at the Volunteer Park ribbon-cutting.

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8

AirVenture Today

Camp Clutter cultivated by re-enactors
Story and photos by Frederick A. Johnsen

T

hey nickname it Camp Clutter.
Ammunition crates, bomb
fins, parts and pieces for a gun
turret, engine cowl panels, and bits of
military debris.
And they cherish it.
This stuff is not for the dump; it’s
for effect.
The EAA Warbirds Living History
Group sets up camp each year in the
Warbirds area at EAA Oshkosh, using
vintage tents, mess equipment, uniforms, and gear to depict life for World
War II fliers and ground troops.
Similar to Civil War re-enactment
groups, the Warbirds re-enactors animate the pages of history as they go
about life at Miller Field, their base on
the fly-in site.
Miller Field is named with a tip of
the 50-mission-crush hat to 90-yearold Joe Miller, a WWII veteran who
comes to Oshkosh from Pennsylvania
to support the camp.
“I’m their mentor,” explains Joe,
wearing a rugged Army Air Forces A-2
flying jacket. He helps with providing

meals during the week, and is not shy
about hitting people up for support of
the Living History Group.
Whenever Joe is at the encampment,
it is clear he is the revered grand old
man of the site. He flew B-25 Mitchell medium bombers in the Pacific
under the auspices of the Thirteenth
Air Force. There, B-25s were adapted
for strafing, becoming deadly gunships with as many as 14 forward-firing
.50-caliber machine guns. “We had little
parabombs we dropped,” Joe explains.
These “little parabombs” were fragmentation bombs whose travel to the
ground was delayed by a small parachute,
allowing the Mitchells to drop them from
minimum altitude and still speed safely
away before the bombs detonated.
Doug Anderson from Wisconsin
Rapids serves as acting camp commander when the official commander
is absent—the re-enactors adhere to
a realistic military hierarchy as they
flesh out WWII life.
But he’s not stuffy about rank.
“We’ve got a good group,” Doug says.

Invasion stripes demo
Warbird re-enactors created a realistic living history tableau Monday as they painted black and white stripes on a
World War II C-53 transport. Their hurried and sometimes
blotchy efforts deliberately mimicked the hasty stripes
given to combat planes just before strategic invasions.

“Everybody works
well together.”
Some of the reenactors bring their
own equipment to
add realism to the
scene.
Doug
quickly identifies the
camp’s tents based
on their vintage and
intended use. He
says the group could
use more pyramidstyle tents. And that
could happen; visitors often donate
items to the group
to embellish the camp.
“Most of this stuff was donated
to us,” Doug explains. It is carefully
stored until needed for re-creations
like Miller Field, he says.
People come from many states, Canada, and even England to participate in
the living history encampment at AirVenture, not unlike the melting pot of

Allied nations during the war. Their
presence invigorates this living tribute
to a time that is becoming increasingly
remote—and with a shrinking population of veteran participants.
Bringing that era alive motivates
the re-enactors even as it educates
and fascinates visitors from the world
of 2013. AVT

See more photos of this unique demonstration at www.AirVenture.org/live.

Friendly forces mistakenly opened fire on American
transport aircraft and gliders during the invasion of Sicily
in 1943. In an effort to prevent more friendly fire incidents,
aircraft involved in the invasions of Normandy and southern France in 1944 wore temporary invasion stripes.

Initially wrapping around the fuselage and wings, the
stripes were later diminished to the undersurfaces, just
to remind gunners looking up from below. The aircraft
receiving the invasion treatment is a Douglas C-53 flown to
Oshkosh by members of the Texas Flying Legends Museum.

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10

AirVenture Today

Bonanza arrival included a mutant

S

aturday’s mass arrival of Bonanzas included a normal flock of
V-tail models, straight-tail models, and twin-engined Baron cousins.
Plus one “mutant.”
That mutant belongs to Mike and
Mary Friedman of Chantilly, Virginia.
Starting out as a Beechcraft 58P pressurized Baron twin, their airplane,
after a multiple-year modification
project, has become a very impressivelooking single.
“The engines were removed, the
nose was removed, and we’ve replaced
the nose area with a Walter 601D,”
Mike said. “It depends on who you ask,
but it is about 725 hp.”
With a long turbine nose and a fivebladed Avia propeller up front, the
craft readily stands out in a line of Barons parked in the North 40.
Original Baron 58P power came
from two 350-hp piston engines. The
Friedman airplane is lighter and, with
the additional power, is a bit spryer.
“It handles like a Baron, but you
don’t have any twin-engine issues,”
Mike said. “The torque is manageable.
You have beta so stopping is no issue.
The rate of climb is 2,000 fpm. It can
probably do better than that I just
haven’t pushed it.”

“It is a blast to fly.”
The couple felt the need for speed.
“The performance goal was 241 knots.
If I really push it, I can get it. Cruise
seems to be about 235.
“It’s a blast to fly.”
Mike regularly flies on business
about 150 hours yearly, so comfort was
a key goal.
“We kept the pressurization,” he
said. “And we’ve got air conditioning.”
Although the Friedmans have been
involved since the project initiated, Dick
Bayles completed the actual construction.
It is now known as a Baylescraft
Lightning both in honor of Bayles and
in honor of two similar prototypes
Beechcraft created in the 1980s called
“Lightnings.”
Since the craft went from two engines to one, it dodged an issue common to many turbine conversions:
range.
“Fuel consumption at cruise is
about 42 gallons per hour,” Mike said.
“It compares pretty closely to a regular
configured P Baron.
“We have 196 gallons usable, which
really makes this a three-hour airplane. Depending on how quickly we
can get up high, it could be three and
a half.

Bendix/King announces
products and updates
By Gary Flick

Bendix/King kicked off the convention by unveiling a number of new
products at its brand new pavilion yesterday morning.
Kevin Gould, president of Bendix/
King, spoke first on the grand scale of
the company’s mission.
“We want our products to demonstrate the revitalization of Bendix/
King,” he said. “These new products
are affordable, easy to use, and innovative.”
Gould then handed the microphone
to GAMA President Pete Bunce, who
explained why the new Bendix/King
products were important to aviation
in regard to safety.

“Loss of control is one of the problems that causes accidents, but it is a
problem we can fix,” Bunce said.
He explained that angle of attack indicators were one of the easiest ways
to do so, and applauded Bendix/King
on making this technology affordable.
“We will save lives with this technology,” Bunce explained before handing the reins to Bendix/King’s Roger
Jollis, vice president of marketing.
Jollis introduced the new KLR 10
AOA indicator, explaining, “The best
way to know if you’re getting to be
dangerously slow is an AOA indicator.”
The KLR can be installed on an
aircraft glare shield (which is recom-

Story and photo by Randy Dufault

No questions of balance
Another common turbine conversion
issue is weight and balance. A number
of ballasting features were engineered
into the airframe, though no additional

weight, at least so far, has been required.
“Because of the overall weight
loss I can fill all the seats, fill all the
fuel, and be within the original 58P
weight and balance,” Mike said. “So
it is a real six-place, or four plus
bags, airplane.
“Being experimental we are not
limited to the Beech weight and balance, but we saw no reason to go beyond that. I spent an afternoon after
we got the weights and discovered I
cannot mis-load this airplane.
“If I can put it in it, it will take it.”
Mike closed with, “It is just efficient personal transportation.” AVT

mended) or integrated into the panel.
It not only has an LED array to show
the pilot’s AOA, but also alerts the
pilot via radio when speed is dangerously slow.
The KLR 10 is currently only available for experimental aircraft, but
Bendix/King is confident the FAA
will allow its use in certified aircraft
very soon.
Jollis also introduced the KT 74
ADS-B ready Mode S transponder. According to Jollis, “When you hook this
up you are covered by the 2020 ADS-B
mandate.”
The company also introduced the
updated KSN 765 integrated safety
navigator, “little brother” to the KSN
770 that was shown at AirVenture
last year.
The only difference between the
770 and 765 is the latter does not have
comm/nav capability.

Both navigators have been equipped
with touch screens as well as hard
keys because “we listen to our customers’ feedback and some liked the touch
screen and some did not,” Jollis said.
The new navigators also have split
screen capabilities so the pilot can
view traffic, maps, and storms at the
same time.
Finally, Bendix/King introduced
upgrades to the MyWingman planning and navigation app. Version 1.3
offers enhanced “smart routing” that
can be updated in flight, alerts pilots
when they are approaching different
airspaces, and also has a terrain awareness function to inform pilots when
landforms are approaching.
All the new and improved products
are available for viewing and demonstration throughout the week at the
Bendix/King pavilion located directly
outside of Hangar B. AVT

“It’s a turbine so it’s using 20 an
hour just sitting on the ground, and
range depends a lot on how low they
keep you. My guess is that if I can get
up to 25,000, I will have a four-hour
airplane. That will require oxygen in
addition to the pressurization, and it
just hasn’t been worth it to try.
“I will try it sometime when I’m by myself. But Mary prefers not to use oxygen.”

12

AirVenture Today
Sometimes we all need some
wingtips. When circumstances
challenge our dreams the cold reality
of life can be discouraging, even to
the point of causing us to question
what we pursue. But a savvy mentor,
experienced in overcoming similar
obstacles, can make the difference
between disappointment and
fulfillment, as the character Dusty
learns from his mentor Skipper Riley
in Disney’s Planes.
Skipper’s a reclusive old Navy Corsair,
an ace flier, and top instructor of
the Jolly Wrenches squadron until a
combat incident grounded him for life.
As voiced by Stacy Keach, he finds
his life upended when an ambitious
and persistent Dusty (Dane Cook)
seeks out the old veteran’s wisdom
and expertise—helping the young
ag plane and would-be champion
along the way learning a few new life
lessons of his own.
Disney’s Planes debuts Friday night at
the EAA Fly-In Theater.

AirVenture Cup draws 48 racers

T

he AirVenture Cup Race was delayed until Monday, but when the numbers
were tabulated, the overall winner in the 48-plane race was Marty Abbott
in his Turbine Legend, with an average speed of 354.3 mph.
You can see the race planes parked in the Homebuilts area on the flightline.
Here are the results for the 16 race classes. AVT

Oshkosh presents life opportunities
for youth, young adults
By Barbara A. Schmitz

Stephen Knudson gets information from
Southern Illinois University representatives
James Libuszowski and Andrew Ross in the
College Park facility.

PHOTO BY PHIL WESTON

A

handful of planes and fewer
than 150 people, mainly adults,
attended EAA’s first gathering
of aviation enthusiasts in September
1953 at what is now Timmerman Field
in Milwaukee.
Throughout the decades, the EAA
convention and fly-in has transformed into something that is literally for everyone. But with the age
of pilots inching up—the average age
was 48.3 in 2012 according to the
GAMA databook—more emphasis
has been put on introducing children, teens, and young adults to the
opportunities and excitement that
aviation can present. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 is no exception.
KidVenture
KidVenture began in 1999 out of a
need for things that families could do
at the fly-in and convention, explains
KidVenture Chairman Dan Majka.
It first targeted youth ages 10-14,
but soon expanded to include ages
5-17. It also doubled in size and number of booths.
Today, KidVenture, located on Pioneer Airport across from the AirVenture Museum, allows youth to receive
loggable flight instruction on a simu-

lator, earn FAA credit toward an A&P
certificate through hands-on building projects, learn how to fly a radiocontrolled airplane, modify a wing on
a computer then find out how well it
flies, see what it’s like to land on Mars,
and much more.
KidVenture not only gets children’s
imaginations soaring, Majka says, but
also helps youth gain pride and confidence in their abilities.
It’s an area where kids are encouraged to touch. However, they occasionally get parents who want to do
the project themselves.
“But I remind them that there are
adult forums for that,” Majka says.
“This is just for the kids.
“For families, it’s become the destination they go to first, and then they go
to the show,” Majka says. “In the past,
I’ve had people tell me they’ve been at
the show for 2 1/2 days and that they
still haven’t been to the flightline because their kid won’t let them leave
KidVenture.”
Education & Interactive Zone
featuring College Park
It’s a one-stop shopping spot.
The new Education & Interactive
Zone provides a place for high school

and college students to network with
prospective colleges and employers in
a relaxed setting.
“The pilot population is aging,
and this is a great way to encourage
youth to get into the aviation field,”
says Ann Gentz, College Park chairwoman. “For those who don’t know
how to do it or what is out there, it’s a
great place to start.”
Sponsored by American Airlines,
the area includes representatives from
colleges and industry leaders, Gentz
says. While certain areas are only open
to students, other areas are open to
anyone looking to learn.
Located just west and a little north
of Waukau Avenue and Knapp Street,
the area includes daily forum presentations from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
where speakers tell their story of how
they got into aviation, Gentz says.
In addition, visitors can enjoy interactive exhibits including flight
simulators or video games like World
of Warplanes, a job fair, college mixer,
and more.
“The job fair includes industries
that are looking to hire,” she says.
“There are so many qualified people
who come to AirVenture, so this is a
perfect fit. But the job fair also pro-

vides an opportunity for young people
to see what qualifications they will
need once they graduate.”
Gentz says the area will become an
AirVenture staple, and likely expand.
“I’m a mother of four children, but
if one of my kids was passionate about
aviation, this is the place I would be going,” she says. “It’s a win-win for kids
and adults wanting to know what’s out
there for colleges or companies.”
Central Florida Aerospace Academy
Current students and graduates of
the Central Florida Aerospace Academy in Lakeland, Florida, are at EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh to spread the
word about aviation and inspire other students.
Lori Bradner, executive director of
education, says the students are volunteering at KidVenture, working at the
Sun ’n Fun booth, and visiting aviation
exhibits.
Billed as the future of aviation offered through Sun ’n Fun, CFAA is a
workforce academy of Polk County
schools that believes in a brighter future through aviation, Bradner says.
“We serve as a ground floor STEM
resource for public and private schools
and universities,” she says. “There is
Cont. p16

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no better way to teach STEM subjects
than through airplanes.”
CFAA provides curriculum for
teachers, and brings in hands-on activities for the students. Since beginning
in November 2012, the academy has
reached more than 11,000 students,
800 teachers, and 52 schools, Bradner says. They have also reached 168
students and eight teachers in Trinidad, and have had calls from five other
countries to provide STEM assistance.
Alejandro Aybar-Mota, 18 and a
CFAA graduate, says the academy gave
him a jump-start on his career, and
that is what he hopes to help others
do here. “We’re here to educate others
and really get them interested in aviation and what that is all about.”
Women Soar You Soar
In its 10th year, Women Soar You Soar
will introduce 75 girls in grades 9
through 12 to 21 female mentors working in a variety of aviation and aerospace fields.
“The main purpose of the program
is to empower the girls and to educate them about what is available in
the aviation field,” says Debby RihnHarvey, an aerobatic pilot who is
the chairwoman of Women Soar. “It
helps to build their confidence, and
empowers them…

“We mentor, encourage, and educate the girls, while they make new
friends and get excited about aviation,”
Rihn-Harvey adds. “We really stress
that they can do everything they want
to do, and that ‘can’t’ shouldn’t be in
their vocabulary.”
The program also includes a variety
of activities, including flight simulation, workshops, mentor sessions, career exploration, and a chance to hear
from top women in the field, such
as retired astronaut Linda Godwin,
Thunderbird pilot Caroline Jensen,
NASA engineer Nagin Cox who will
talk about her role in the Mars Curiosity rover mission, and others.
The program, which runs from
Thursday through Sunday, also provides scholarships to help girls achieve
their goals, Rihn-Harvey says.
EAA Air Academy
The EAA Air Academy is celebrating
30 years of aviation camps in 2013. But
those who have graduated from the
program often say they still celebrate
the friendships they formed there.
“Aviation may have brought these
kids together, but it wasn’t just aviation that holds them together,” says
Scott Cameron, Air Academy camp
supervisor.
EAA currently offers eight camps

each summer for youth ages 12 to 18,
he says. That’s quite a change from
when they started; then they offered
only one 21-day camp.
All the camps offer hands-on activities in workshops and classrooms
and include a flight. Each camp builds
up on skills where the previous camp
ended, Cameron says.
More than 5,000 youths have attended Air Academy camps since the
program began. Many of the earlier
campers have gone on to get jobs in the
military, with NASA, and with other
groups, Cameron says.
And many of the alumni keep coming back.
Cameron knows the bond that keeps
the youth together since he has been
with the program since its inception
in 1984. In fact, this year they have 16
staff members; more than half of those
first came to Oshkosh as campers.
Megan Simoneaux, of Green Valley,
Arizona, is one of those. She came to
the Air Academy for one year as a student, and has now been working at the
camp for 10 years.
“The Air Academy is really more
about the community,” she explains.
“You’re here for so many hours with
people who you share a common passion. You’re just not meeting new people; you’re joining a family.” AVT

Lightspeed
releases Zulu
PFX headset

A

t
an
AirVenture
press
conference Monday morning,
Lightspeed announced the
production of its new Zulu PFX
headset.
PFX stands for Personal Flying
Experience, and the headset boasts a
number of technological advances in
noise cancellation.
“Zulu PFX is the result of over
two years of development and we are
excited about the improvements,”
Lightspeed President Allan Schrader
said. “We look forward to sharing
this with all of the attendees here at
AirVenture this week.”

PHOTO BY PHIL WESTON

A headset sale draws a crowd at the Lightspeed exhibit.

The PFX aspect of the headset
focuses on new innovations that
allow it to adapt to the user and the
cockpit environment.
Acoustic
response
mapping
measures the user’s ear size and shape
and adapts to each pilot, ensuring the
most direct auditory path.
The core of the headset is made

of Kevlar, ensuring flexibility and
strength, and the headset can be
programmed with other personal
preferences
via
Lightspeed’s
FlightLink app for the iPad and
iPhone.
The Zulu PFX and an entire product
guide from Lightspeed can be seen
throughout the week at Booth 259. AVT

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18

AirVenture Today

It’s…complicated

D

espite the wide variety of innovative aircraft at EAA Oshkosh
2013, most share one thing:
They consume fuel. Of the three basic fuels commonly used by general
aviation—100LL aviation gasoline, Jet
A and unleaded gasoline—only one of
them contains tetraethyl lead (TEL),
a toxic substance long ago removed
from automotive gasoline. That fuel is,
of course, 100LL, and its lead content
is an ongoing health, environment, and
economic issue, which means it eventually will be replaced.

PHOTO BY PHIL WESTON

By Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

But with what?
There simply isn’t a current substitute for 100LL that works for the existing fleet of GA aircraft. A large number of certificated and experimental
aircraft are operating just fine on unleaded automotive gasoline—for 30
years. For a significant portion of the
fleet, however, mogas as it’s called simply doesn’t have sufficient anti-knock
characteristics—among other issues—
to allow safe, efficient operation. And
given the sorry state of new piston-aircraft sales—at least compared to 10 or

so years ago—the existing fleet is the
market for 100LL and its successor.
Although industry and the FAA
have known for some time that
100LL’s days are numbered, when
and how the fuel is replaced, and with
what, remain unanswered questions.
Those questions also mean there’s significant uncertainty on the potential
impact replacing 100LL could have on
the future of general aviation.
After some not-so-gentle prodding
from health and environment groups,
plus the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the FAA and industry are
working together to find the answers.
Most recently, acting on industry recommendations, the FAA initiated an
unleaded avgas program and created a
new office to manage all fuels-related
testing and certification issues, among
other challenges.
But the basic problem remains: Coming up with a replacement for 100LL
isn’t as simple as just removing TEL.
Consider: If lead is removed from
100LL, something has to take its
place. Many substances are available with high octane qualities, but
there’s no free lunch: Altering one
component of the 100LL “recipe”—

also known as ASTM D910—to eliminate lead easily can impact the fuel’s
other characteristics, perhaps increasing its ability to absorb water,
promote corrosion in fuel systems, or
dissolve rubber fuel bladders.
And from a consumer perspective,
one of the most important characteristics a 100LL replacement should
have is reasonable cost. Removing
TEL and replacing it with some exotic
substances could mean avgas’s already
too-high cost could climb further.
No one wants that.
Another issue is certification. Many
non-experimental aircraft are certificated to operate on 100LL. If 100LL
isn’t available, what then? Put another
way, what’s the legality of operating
an aircraft certificated to use 100LL
on an unleaded 100 octane fuel?
At a minimum, it may require securing from the FAA an expensive and
time-consuming STC for each and every make/model airframe and engine.
The testing necessary to obtain an
STC may result in new limitations or
require component replacement, further increasing the cost.
There needs to be an efficient and
effective means for FAA fleetwide

TUESday, JULY 30, 2013
certification approval for a replacement unleaded fuel that meets all the
necessary safety requirements.
These are just a handful of the challenges facing industry and the FAA as
the search for a 100LL replacement
gets better organized. Resolving them
is one result of ongoing efforts by industry’s alphabet soup, including the
EAA, to ensure general aviation’s future.
Those efforts follow a monthslong
effort by industry known as the Unleaded Avgas Transition Aviation
Rulemaking Committee, or UAT ARC,
which the FAA chartered in January
2011. In addition to EAA and various
FAA offices, UAT ARC’s membership
included the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), the General
Aviation Manufacturers Association
(GAMA), the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), Cessna,
Cirrus, Continental, Lycoming, the
American Petroleum Institute, the
EPA, ExxonMobil, Shell, Swift Fuels,
and General Aviation Modifications
Inc. (GAMI).
Thirteen months later, in February 2013, the UAT ARC produced a
99-page report to the FAA, noting the

many challenges the agency and industry face before a 100LL substitute
can be in wide use. In addition to the
issues discussed above, the UAT ARC’s
report also identified as major obstacles the lack of a program leading to
fleetwide evaluation, certification, and
deployment of a 100LL replacement;
inadequate market forces, a product
of general aviation’s relatively small
size; and no standardized policy or test
procedures enabling fleetwide assessment and certification.
Additionally, the UAT ARC made
five key recommendations to the FAA.
They include: develop a roadmap and
identify milestones for a 100LL replacement development process; establish centralized and standardized
testing of candidate fuels, including
generation of fleetwide certification
data; create a solicitation and selection
process for candidate fuels; establish
the Piston Aviation Fuels Initiative
(PAFI)—a collaborative industry-government initiative—to implement the
UAT ARC recommendations with
minimal impact on the existing piston-engine aircraft fleet; and an FAA
centralized certification office for all
fuel-related programs.

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And the FAA has reacted.
Most recently, the FAA announced
it would begin laboratory tests of candidate fuels in 2014, and asked producers to submit appropriate samples. The
agency’s goal is to have at least identified the most viable replacements for
100LL by 2018.
In addition to establishing a test
program, the agency established its
Fuels Program Office, AIR-20, to provide focus and consolidate resources
and expertise. Also in response to the
UAT ARC’s recommendations, the
FAA and the General Aviation Avgas
Coalition, an industry group, formed
the PAFI Steering Group (PSG) and
are working together to implement the
recommendations.
“We believe that the FAA’s program
is by far the most effective process to
not only evaluate the fuels but give the
industry the data it requires to actually
bring a fuel to market and implement it
across the entire GA fleet,” EAA Chairman Jack Pelton said in June when the
FAA’s testing program was announced.
“We are excited to see what fuels are
brought forward for consideration
and look forward to FAA being able
to evaluate them in such a way that all

19

interested parties in the industry can
collectively and knowledgeably determine the best long-term outcome for
general aviation.”
AOPA President Craig Fuller also
voiced his organization’s support for
these efforts. “We are pleased that the
FAA is continuing to take concrete
steps to help the aviation industry
move forward with the testing and
evaluation of promising avgas alternatives. We understand the complexities
of this search, and we are confident
that diligent work will help us find an
acceptable fuel source that is safe for
pilots, the public, and the environment,” Fuller added.
Throughout the week at AirVenture
2013, several scheduled presentations
will update attendees on various
aspects of the search for a 100LL
replacement.
The important takeaway?
Unlike in previous years, there’s
finally a workable plan to which the
FAA and industry have agreed, one
designed to consider the technical,
operational, and economic challenges
ahead with a program aimed at identifying the most viable replacements for
100LL by 2018. AVT

20

AirVenture Today

PHOTO BY TYSON RININGER

Like a shining star, the B-25 Lady Luck, bears the inscription, “Dedicated to the men of the 51st Bomb Wing.”

Edson Grindeland and Jim Thompson from
Hatton, North Dakota, talk in the North 40
shortly after flying their Pitts into Oshkosh
on Saturday.

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This is the first time that (L-R) Jim Thompson, Keith Thorsgard, Kevin Solberg, and Edson
Grindeland brought all four Pitts Specials composing the Hatton Flying Circus to AirVenture.

F

or many the words flying farmer
conjure up visions of a bright
yellow Cub floating slowly over
a gently rolling landscape of green
fields. But over the croplands of northeastern North Dakota that vision may
turn out to be one, two, three, or four
brightly painted Pitts Special biplanes
doing a few aggressive maneuvers
while out checking on the cows.

The four little planes are part
of what Edson Grindeland and his
friends call the Hatton Flying Circus.
Edson flies his experimental Pitts
S-1C, Kevin Solberg flies an experimental S-1S, Keith Thorsgard flies a
factory-built S-1S, and Roger Thompson, along with his son Jim, fly a factory-built S-2B. They fly off of a grass
strip on Edson’s brother Ethan’s farm

outside of Hatton, North Dakota.
“We grew up around airplanes,
Ethan and me,” Edson said. “Our
grandpa and dad flew all the time, so
we’ve been around airplanes our whole
life. Over time we’ve had Champs and
Bonanzas and the like.
“But Roger Thompson bought [a
Pitts] a few years back and I’m not sure
what spurred him to get one.”
Eventually Roger offered to let Edson fly the biplane if he first got some
training. After a round of instruction in
Arizona, Edson and Roger spent time in
the airplane just enjoying the sprightly
performance of the aerobatic Pitts.
The sheer fun of it all brought Edson to consider the purchase of an
S-1C located in Montana. A deal was
made and although he had considered
using parts off the plane for an RV-8
project, the flight back to North Dakota convinced him otherwise. “I flew
it home and had way too much fun in it
to take it apart,” he said.
One thing led to another. Kevin purchased his Pitts to replace a Bonanza lost
in a tornado and, four years ago, Keith
purchased number four in the group.
This is the first time they have all

been here, although they regularly fly
together at events throughout eastern
North Dakota and western Minnesota.
As Oshkosh veterans the pilots had
managed to develop a cache of gear
that they store in Oshkosh from year
to year. Ultimately it became practical to come with just a duffel bag small
enough to fit into what little luggage
space the Pitts provides.
None of the planes have heaters.
and this year that required a drive into
town for warmer clothing on one of
the two fuel stops.
Although they all started out from
the same basic Curtis Pitts design,
there are differences. Each tail has
different dimensions; the aileron
configurations are all dissimilar; and
modifications done on the two experimental one-seaters departed a bit
from the plans. Kevin’s is the fastest as
it includes several speed mods a prior
owner installed to race at Reno.
Any aerobatics beyond the loops
and rolls they occasionally do now?
“I’m too old for that, Edson said.
“But one day if Keith and Jimmy want
to do it, they have the airplanes to do
it in.” AVT

EAA would like to thank our partners
for their support in making your convention special
H

AA and AOPA will present “Continuing Legal Education for Attorneys: Applying the Pilot’s Bill
of Rights to FAA Enforcement Cases”
on Friday, August 2, at 10:30 a.m. in
the Heritage Gallery.
The seminar is hosted by the EAA
Legal Advisory Council, along with
John and Kathy Yodice on behalf of
the AOPA Legal Services Plan.

Col. Stephen Woody, NTSB administrative law judge, is expected
to attend and participate as well.
The one-hour seminar complies with
continuing legal education (CLE) requirements in most states.
Among the topics covered:
Provision of the PBOR notice
Access to ATC data
Application of rules of evidence

Application of rules of procedure
New appellate options
Status of the NOTAM project
Status of the medical application revisions
Revised medical qualification standards

“The Pilot’s Bill of Rights has
changed the landscape for FAA
enforcement cases, and this is a great
opportunity to tap into the shared

experiences of the LAC and the other
attorneys who attend AirVenture,”
said Alan L. Farkas, chairman of the
EAA Legal Advisory Council. “We’re
thrilled that John and Kathy Yodice
will be joining us again.”
The seminar is free of charge to
those attending AirVenture. Interested attorneys can still register via email at govt@eaa.org AVT.

Learn what EAA insurance
plans can offer

APPLY AT

Join us at the EAA AirVenture 2013 Job Fair at College Park - July 31, 12 pm - 3 pm

Feel a little intimidated when it
comes to your aircraft insurance?
The EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan
will be covered in a series of forum
presentations this week that can help
you become savvier on this sometimes
confusing subject.
All presentations will be held in
Forum Building 11 and conducted by
Bob Mackey, senior vice president
of Falcon Insurance Agency, one
of the largest independent aviation
insurance agencies, and the official
administrator for EAA’s insurance
plans.
Wednesday, 10-11:15 a.m. - “Aircraft
Insurance Mumbo-Jumbo” will be

an entertaining session teaching the
basics of insurance, after which you
will discover that airplane insurance
isn’t that complicated.
Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
– “Save $$ on Airplane Insurance”
covers the various ways airplane
owners can determine what they do
and do not need when buying airplane
insurance.
Friday, 10-11:15 a.m. – “Fill the
GAP: AD&D Insurance” shows how
to ensure your family’s financial
security when traditional life
insurance excludes aviation activities
through EAA’s new accidental death
and dismemberment plan. AVT

Flying Musicians
return to Oshkosh
To some, the rumbling of a radial
engine, the smooth staccato of a V-12,
and even the popping power of a flat
four are the music they love most; to
others nothing beats the intimacy of
an acoustic-driven jam session of Gibson and Seagull guitars.
And then there’s the Flying Musicians Association (FMA) with their
hearts in both camps. FMA members
once again plan to land at EAA Oshkosh and strum and sing for a campfire jam in Camp Scholler on Tuesday
night; performances, open mic, and
jam on Thursday evening next to the
Ultralights Barn; and special performances at the Annual Seaplane Pilots

Association’s corn roast.
The Flying Musicians Association
Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 2009 consisting of pilots who are musicians, spanning the
globe, proficiency levels, and genres.
Like so many organizations these
days, maintaining their mission has
been a challenge, said John Zapp,
president/CEO of FMA: “Under sequestration, we too had to cut back
this year, but will push onward and
upward to continue to share our passions—aviation and music.”
You can learn more about the FMA
and its Oshkosh schedule at www.
FlyingMuscians.org. AVT

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32

AIRVENTURE TODAY

Airwolf STCs expand remote-filter
& oil/air separator availability

I

ndustry leader Airwolf Filter Corp. returned to Oshkosh with an expanded
range of STCs that allow installation of its
remotely mounted oil-filter systems on virtually every piston aircraft engine flying—
from Continentals and Lycomings to Jacobs,

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Curtiss-Wright, Franklin, Pratt & Whitney,
Housai, Kinner, Warner, Ranger, or WSK
PZL Kalisz engine.
Jonny Quest, Airwolf operations director, said this new schedule is unique in
aviation. “Now, every piston aero engine is
approved for our lifeprolonging oil filter
system without the
need for local field approval from the FAA,
EASA, or Transport
Canada.” The STCs
“take all the regulatory work off the
shoulders of owners
and operators,” he explained. “All they have
to do is install it.”
In a similar move,
Airwolf ’s STCs for
its oil/air separators,
standard and minisized, now cover the
same broad spec-

trum of aircraft piston engines, the
company revealed.
Air-oil separators recycle oil mist
generated by air pressure in the engine crankcase, remove condensed
water and humid air into the slipstream, and return pure, separated oil
to the crankcase, resulting in lower oil
consumption and reduced corrosionproducing humidity in the engine, as
well as eliminating oil stains on the
bottom of fuselages.
With two distinct capacity models, Air-Sep and Mini-Sep, Airwolf can
meet the demands of aircraft owners of
all piston-powered aircraft. Pilots who
want to trade in their M20 air oil separator for Airwolf ’s superior Air-Sep
or Mini-Sep qualify for a $50 trade-in
against a new purchase. The offer is
limited to one per customer, and the
trade-in must have been removed from
a certified aircraft and must be accompanied by the original 337 form. See
Airwolf in Exhibit 287.

Cessna offers heat-ref lecting paint
for Turbo Stationair
Cessna now offers a limitededition paint scheme for its
Turbo Stationair—the Night
Sky edition. This finish features a black and red design
topped with a new surface
coating that reflects most infrared solar heat.
Cessna decided to offer the
Night Sky option after input
from customers who wanted
the aircraft to look sleeker.
“This is an attention-grabbing product that reflects an
owner’s personality and preference,” said Jeff Umscheid,
Cessna business leader of the
Turbo Stationair.
Learn more about the Turbo Stationair and the other
Cessna innovations by visiting
one of Cessna’s booths.

Reflecting infrared radiant heat, the new Night Sky finish on Cessna’s Turbo Stationair helps the bird
look and feel cooler—a goal espoused by many of the company’s customers.

TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2013

Fly-In Theater
Sunday, July 28 – Saturday, August 3
Enjoy the night like never before. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs and join us
for an evening of exciting aviation films, shown under the stars.

Presented by Ford Motor Company

Sunday, July 28th

Octopussy

Monday, July 29th

Iron Man 2

Tuesday, July 30th

Skyfall

Wednesday, July 31st

The Terminal

Thursday, August 1st

The Avengers

Friday, August 2nd

Planes

Saturday, August 3rd

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Special pre-premiere screening of Disney’s epic air adventure

Movies and dates subject to change due to scheduling conflicts.
Free shows begin at 8:30 p.m. daily, 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Saturday. Located at the
north end of Doolittle Drive behind the Camp Store. Come and experience new movies as well
as aviation classics. The popcorn is on us – enjoy!

33

34

AIRVENTURE TODAY

Stemme relaunches in the U.S. with
new CEO and S10 features
By Marino Boric, EAA European Correspondent

G

erman’s high-end motorglider
manufacturer Stemme is relaunching its brand at EAA Oshkosh 2013
with a fresh design, new management
team, and new features on the well-established S10, known for its unique fold-

away propeller. New CEO Paul Masschelein is also highlighting the latest updates
to the S6-RT model.
“Stemme is pushing especially for the
North American market,” Masschelein said.
New dealer and service partnerships
are being established throughout
the U.S. close to its
customer base. The
company plans to
offer demo flight
opportunities in
the motorgliders
just after AirVenture in Oshkosh;
demos are also
any time at Stemme
USA headquarStemme is relaunching the brand at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013
ters in San Diego,
with new design and management.
California.

S10 upgrades
Stemme’s flagship S10 motorglider boasts
a 50:1 glide ratio, retractable fold-away
variable pitch propeller, and power from
a turbocharged Rotax 914 engine. With
side-by-side seating and an electrically
retractable gear, the S10 also boasts a reconfigured glass panel with engine management system (EMS) and new Butterfly
variometer, a new hydraulic brake system
and four-point automatic seat belts.
Inside, the S10 sports a fresh “technical”
interior design in light green and graphite.
S6-RT
The Stemme S6-RT, for retractable/turbo, is
a new concept of a travel motorglider with
a high maximum takeoff weight of 1,980
pounds, fully retractable tricycle landing
gear (with trailing links on the mains), and
the reliable Rotax 914 turbocharged engine.

Stemme engineers placed the engine
mid-fuselage, where it is barely audible
in cruise. Thrust comes via a carbon fiber
drive shaft turning a fully feathering threeblade prop. The S6-RT also features sideby-side seating, making for comfortable
cruising at 140 knots on about 5 gph to go
places fast or soaring at a 36:1 glide ratio.
And flying Stemme’s S6 and S10 requires only a glider certificate with a motorglider endorsement.
Stemme’s new management was appointed in November 2012 after two
long-term shareholders and passionate
Stemme pilots increased their investment
to own 70 percent of the company’s stock,
which was founded in 1984.
“Stemme is here to stay,” Masschelein said.
“I am convinced that we have great prospects
with our exceptional motorgliders—the S10
and S6. We are creating a future.”

andon Clipp has mowed hundreds of
lawns, all for one reason: to earn enough
money to buy a powered parachute.
It took 2-1/2 years for Landon to mow
nearly 300 lawns—or about 225 acres—
and earn the $7,000 needed to purchase a
used modified Buckeye Millennium.
He is camping by his powered parachute
near the Ultralights Barn this week.
Landon says he has been excited about
aviation since he was 7 when he started
flying RC airplanes. Then, in 2008, he
came to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh with
his Boy Scout troop.
“Once I came to the Ultralights area
and saw how relatively cheap powered
parachutes were, I knew I could do that.”
Landon, of Champaign, Illinois, says
he began lessons when he was 13 or 14,
and soloed at 15 in the powered parachute he would buy later that year.

No pilot certificate is needed to
fly a powered parachute since it falls
within the limitations prescribed in
FAR Part 103.
Now 17, Landon has logged about 40
hours in powered parachutes, and he hopes
to add to that time while in Oshkosh. “I want
to look at all the airplanes here,” he says, “but
I really hope to get in some good flying days.”
He is also volunteering with a friend
and his father, Larry Clipp, parking airplanes at AirVenture.
What is it about powered parachutes
that he likes?
“It’s just very fun,” he says. “It’s so serene and no one bothers you. It’s just you
and the machine and it is very relaxing.”
But the aviation community is half the
fun, he adds. “There are so many people
who are passionate about flying, and you
can learn so much from them.”

Landon, who will be a senior this fall
at Mahomet-Seymour High School, says
he plans to get his sport pilot certificate—
although he ran out of time and money
this summer.

In his free time, Landon says he enjoys
operating a ham radio or playing guitar
and piano.
“And mowing lawns,” he adds, with
a laugh.

Visit Us Here at the
HAI HELI‑CENTER

• See helicopters on display

July 29 – Aug. 4, 2013
Booth #427-436

• View the air show from the
HELI‑CENTER observation deck
(HAI members only)

• Learn how to transition from
fixed‑wing to helicopter

™

• Talk to helicopter industry experts

• Have fun at the HAI HELI‑CENTER

HAI
HELI-CENTER

HELICOPTER DISPLAY
AND PARKING AREA

New This Year!
Fly in and park in
the new helicopter
display and
parking area.

Visit our participating companies:

John & Martha King on Flying Helicopters
Today, July 30, 1–2 pm

American Helicopter
Society, International

Helimission International

Hazebuster Optics

Midwest Helicopter
Association

Helicopter Specialties, Inc.

Hillsboro Aviation, Inc.

36

AIRVENTURE TODAY

AIRCRAFT COVERS

Hybrid doesn’t necessarily mean batteries
By Randy Dufault

O

ver the course of a long career with
the likes of Mooney and Beechcraft,
aeronautical engineer Joe Hutterer
became convinced there was a better way to
build a business aircraft.
His concept is a hybrid propulsion system, though not the typical hybrid-gas
system seen in today’s automobiles and in
some experimental airplanes.
Hutterer explains that hybrid simply
means two different propulsion systems
on a single vehicle. In the case of his concept, the two systems are a pusher turboprop engine in the back of the airplane,
and a retractable fanjet engine in the nose.
“My initial concept was to lower the
noise level and improve safety,” Hutterer
said. “I knew it would be more efficient and
went through the numbers, and the number
was 40 percent.”
“My thing is to get the prop [off the
wing],” Hutterer said. “But then you end
up with a single-engine airplane, and what
happens when the engine quits? Usually the
answer to that question is another engine.
“I’m saying okay, we can put in a backup
engine. A cheap jet, if there is such a thing.
“I started modeling this on the computer, and I started noticing that as a pilot,
if you use both of these together for takeoff
you get about 40 percent more power. The
back engine is sized for cruise anyway. That
is the main engine…so when you put on
this other engine, it is only used for about
five minutes. With all that extra power you
can get up to 10,000 or 12,000 feet in about
three minutes.”
With the configuration Hutterer believes he achieves four goals: better safety since there is no asymmetric thrust;
better aerodynamics since the wing design is not compromised with engine

installations; better performance since
each engine is sized specifically for its
role; and substantially lower noise levels
in the cabin of the airplane.
Overall he projects a 40 percent savings
in fuel over conventionally configured aircraft, a corresponding 40 percent reduction
in exhaust emissions, and he also believes
the concept easily scales from aircraft seating as few as six, to ones that seat 50.
The concept is patented.
“I was kind of surprised when I got the
patent,” he said. “Over the years everything
has been done before. We’ve had retractable
engines in sailplanes.
“This particular combination I would
compare to when in 1988 a Northwest airline captain took a suitcase, added wheels
and a retractable folding handle. He invented the [roll-aboard]. There was no new
technology. The wheel had been invented
long ago, and he just put it together. Now
I don’t think you can buy a suitcase that
doesn’t have wheels.”
Hutterer is seeking investors to help
fund development of a flying prototype. He
acquired a Cessna 421 to use as a base and is
partnering with Air Plains Services of Wellington, Kansas, for the modifications.
The changes include moving the wing,
constructing a new tail section to house the
turboprop engine, building a new tail, and
modifying the nose to house a retracting
surplus jet engine. Assuming work begins
soon, the somewhat strangely configured
aircraft could be flying in 2015.
Hutterer is manning a booth in the
Innovations Pavilion at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013. He hopes to attract
enough interest so what he believes is a
far better way to build business airplanes
can become a reality.

PHOTO BY RANDY DUFAULT

Aeronautical engineer Joe Hutterer received a patent for his hybrid-powered aircraft concept.
Propulsion for the craft comes from a turboprop pusher engine and retractable jet in the nose.

TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2013

What makes a LEGEND? It starts with an idea, it grows with
the PURPOSE to delight CUSTOMERS, and it’s born from VICTORY.
But the only legends that are truly worth celebrating are those that
carry on long after the first victory lap, where VISION, purpose
and success are ongoing. This is the legend of the PT6 engine,
and now it’s time for us to CELEBRATE 50 inspiring years
of turboprop INNOVATION.
The celebration is under way at Booth #2132 in Hangar B

37

38

AIRVENTURE TODAY

Return of Champions on
Main Plaza Stage
See special presentations from 10 to 11
a.m. on the Plaza Main Stage today featuring the following Gold and Silver Lindy winners in EAAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Return of Champions program.
Homebuilt: Craig Schulze, EAA
839869, Burbank, California, 2007 Lancair
360 N73S, 2008 Grand Champion.

BRP Rotax Engines was presented with
the Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award
by the EAA for its outstanding contributions to the advancement of light aircraft design.
The award was presented to Christian
Mundigler, manager of Rotax Aircraft Engines, who heads product management
and engine lineup.
The Raspet Award, presented every
year since 1960 to a person or organization making an outstanding contribution
to the advancement of light aircraft design,
is named for the late Dr. August Raspet,
a professor at Mississippi State University
and avid light aircraft enthusiast.
“It is an honor for BRP to be awarded
the Dr. August Raspet Memorial Award,”
said Francois Tremblay, marketing director for Rotax aircraft engines. “BRP’s
history of innovation and excellence, as
demonstrated by such products as the
Rotax 912 iS aircraft engine, is a good fit
with Dr. Raspet’s passion for the latest

and greatest technology in light aircraft.”
The Rotax 912 iS fuel-injected engine
is among the most fuel-efficient aircraft
engines in the LSA, ultralight aircraft, and
the general aviation industry. Recently
Rotax unveiled that real-life flight tests
are showing a fuel economy improvement of up to 36 percent compared to the
carbureted Rotax 912 ULS engine. The
digital engine control unit (ECU) system
and the redundant electronic fuel injection system ensure optimal fuel and air
mixture at any altitude for a longer flight
range, fewer carbon dioxide emissions,
and lower operating costs.
The 912 iS engine works with throttle settings below 97 percent in an ECO
mode with a Lambda 1.05 setting, which
results in low fuel consumption.
In a power mode above 97 percent
throttle up to WOT the Lambda is 0.88.
The Rotax 912 iS engine is currently available on 26 different aircraft types, with 24
other OEM installations in progress.

ontinental Motors opened its EAA
Oshkosh announcements with
three items of news: the recent acquisition of assets of Thielert Aircraft, a
strategic partnership with Italian manufacturer Vulcanair, and Continental’s return to air racing.

Continental’s owner AVIC International
Holding Corporation announced last week
its acquisition of the diesel aircraft engine
and manufacturing assets of the former
Thielert Aircraft Engines GmbH through
its subsidiary, Technify Motors GmbH.
The acquisition rounds out the highly

RIDE ON THE B-29 AT EAA AIRVENTURE
Visit our ride desk on Phillips 66 Plaza
(next to the B-24 Liberator)

Book online at www.AirPowerTour.org or call (432) 413-4100

successful and popular Continental Motors line of gasoline engines acquired by
AVIC in 2011, according to Mr. Yu Yimin,
senior vice president of AVIC International, and chairman and CEO of Continental.
Monday’s second announcement regarded Vulcanair and Continental’s strategic partnership, established based on their
shared belief that conventional engines are
not suitable anymore in many countries.
The ever-rising cost of avgas, when
available at all, is a serious roadblock for
profitable operations and for development
of general aviation growth in regions such
as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa,
and Europe. “We have been analyzing and
testing diesel engines for over 13 years,”
said Remo De Feo, Vulcanair’s CEO.
“However we have not offered a dieselpowered aircraft to the market yet in order
to maintain reliability standards and ethical value approach to our customers.
“We believe that Jet A-1 is the only viable alternative to avgas in many parts of

the world. We have carefully monitored the
alternative fuel situation and share Continental Motors’ belief that in the next five
years, 25 percent of the engines operated in
general aviation, in the regions where avgas
is difficult to obtain, will be using Jet A-1.”
Vulcanair announced that it would
introduce the V1.0, a new four-seat, highwing, single-engine, basic-aerobatic aircraft
offering a choice of gas or diesel engine.
The third big announcement was that
Continental is returning to the world of
air racing. This was explained by Franck
Doyen from Mas Events from France.
The company has already attracted
huge interest with its Nemesis Big Frog,
powered by the SMA diesel engine.
The French company will use the
Continental diesel in the Nemesis NXT
airframe recently shown during the Paris
Air Show. This carbon fiber kit aircraft was
specifically designed for the Reno Air Races and is accordingly enhanced and modified for extreme use.

Eagle Flights

™

Take your first step
into the exciting
world of flight

Discover the fun, freedom, and excitement of flying with EAA Eagle Flights. It’s a
FREE introductory flight experience for adults who have always wanted to fly, but
didn’t know how or where to take that first step.
To learn how you can participate, come visit the new EAA Chapters / Young Eagles
Pavilion located just west of the EAA Welcome Center on Celebration Way.

The EAA Eagles Flights™ program is made
possible through the generous support of

TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2013

Your adventure awaits.
Meet the GA8 Airvan. Designed and built in Australia for
the rugged outback, the Airvan excels in STOL situations
and boasts a full-fuel payload of over 1,300 lbs. Eight seats,
multiple configurations, and an unparalleled safety record
make it the perfect solution for countless applications.
Visit us at booth # 237 today.

t’s Sunday afternoon in the Vintage
parking area, south of Phillips 66 Plaza. And although the sky is still a bit
gray, the temps are very comfortable and
the rain is holding off.
A steady stream of beautifully restored and maintained vintage aircraft
are taxiing into the grass down here.
Lots of EAAers are already wandering up and down the rows enjoying the
stunning planes.

Don Dixon is sitting in a low camp
chair under the wing of his bright yellow
Piper Cub.
Don and the Cub are from Aurora
Municipal Airport (ARR), near Chicago. They flew into AirVenture 2013
that morning.
He made the trip in one day. “It’s not
that far. It was slow with a bit of a headwind. It was a little bumpy, and the ceiling was low. It was difficult to stay high
enough off the ground and still below the
clouds to make it through. But it wasn’t
that bad.”
Back home in Illinois he flies the Cub
about 50 hours a year. “I do what you do
in Cubs, which is you fly low and slow,
and find grass strips.”
This 65-hp, no-electrical-system

adventure
8 .1 .1 3

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get a new travel partner.
Enjoy prizes and free popsicles every day from 1–2 p.m. (while supplies last).
Plus, get a chance to win 20,000 WingPoints® and one of eight collectible
die-cast miniature airplanes.
Young Eagles Pilots — Win a breathtaking ride with the Aerostars!
Register at the Phillips 66® Aviation Tent by end of day Tuesday, July 30.
WingPoints® Rewards Program is administered by Kickback Rewards Systems on behalf of Phillips 66 Company. Phillips 66,® Phillips 66 Wings® Logo, WingPoints® and
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Don Dixon and his 1944 Piper Cub.

Cub has an interesting history. “It was
built in 1944,” Don says. “Like all Cubs
that year it was built as an L-4. But it
missed the war. It was sent to an Army
Air Corp base in Alabama, and never
got out of the crate. It was finally purchased in 1951 by the Minneapolis Civil
Air Patrol, and flew as a CAP plane for
a number of years. It got sold to somebody and ended up as a classic ‘barn
aircraft.’ It was rediscovered in ’97, rebuilt completely. The engine was zerotimed. And I got it nine years ago and
have had it since.”
The Cub has its pros and cons. “It’s a
very disappointing transport aircraft, but
it’s a wonderful fun aircraft.”
This is Don’s 12th trip to the fly-in. What
changes has he seen over those years?
“I’m more impressed by how the
same it is. It’s just the same, wonderful
place to be.
“Where else would a pilot want to be?”
He’s pretty relaxed about his plans for
the week. “I don’t even know what’s on
the schedule. I just come up and spend a
few days. I have a friend who’s bringing
his Piper PA-12 up tomorrow. We’ll spend
some time together.”
Don and company love checking out
the warbirds. “We tend to take the same

TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2013
pictures of the warbirds every year. I’ve
got lots of pictures of the warbirds,” he
says with a smile.
“It’s hard not the take a photo of them.”
Which one is his favorite? “It’s hard

not to love the Corsairs. They’re just
so beautiful.”
Greg and Cindy Heckman are from Polo,
Illinois. They flew to Oshkosh this year in

Greg and Cindy Heckman with their newly restored 1946 Funk B-85-C.

their very beautiful 1946 Funk B-85-C.
They got here early in the day Sunday.
By coming in early they managed to avoid
the rough air that so many others encountered later in the day. “It was real smooth,”
Greg says.
“Not a bump or
a burble.”
His home airport
is Ogle County Airport (C55) in Mount
Morris, Illinois.
Greg has just finished a 1,700-hour,
five-year restoration
project on the Funk.
“It was a basket case
when I got it. It was
just a bare fuselage,
boxes full of parts.”
He’s restored the
old plane to pristine
condition, and has
submitted it for judging at this year’s flyin. Fingers crossed.
Cindy is not a
pilot, though she
describes herself as

43

an aviation enthusiast. She volunteers
in the Vintage store, and enjoys attending some of the general interest forums
and session.
Greg has been coming to the flyin for 30 years, and he’s seen a lot of
changes over the years. Some he thinks
are good, some not so much.
He’s troubled about the lack of a
suitable grass runway for vintage aircraft that keeps more vintage aircraft
from coming to the fly-in; so far the
FAA has refused to approve a grass
strip built to resolve that issue. Greg
also expressed concerns about the
amount of commercialization and
sponsorships that have grown over
those years.
But nevertheless he still loves the
fly-in.
“This is still the best thing going.
There’s nothing that compares to it.
You’re not gonna find a perfect event
anywhere. And in spite of some of the
things that maybe we don’t like, it’s still
the best thing going.”
Enjoy Around the Field all year long at
www.AroundTheField.net.

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44

AIRVENTURE TODAY

AOA goes mainstream
By Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

M

any military aircraft have them.
They’re often used in certification
testing. And now, they are available from name brand aviation manufacturers, including Bendix/King.
“They” are angle of attack (AOA) indicators, a cockpit instrument displaying

the relative wind’s angle as it encounters
a wing. Importantly, AOA is not the same
as pitch angle.
Long recognized as the most accurate way to establish and maintain desired airplane performance—especially
in low-speed situations as when landing,

See you at

Booth #210

taking off, or maneuvering—AOA indicators give pilots a much more accurate
presentation of how close a wing may be
to its critical AOA. Exceeding the critical
AOA usually leads to a stall if recovery
isn’t initiated.
This week at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013, Advanced Flight Systems Inc.
is introducing its AOA Pro III, a new
probe-based system derived from the
company’s existing AOA system, which
has seen more than 2,000 installations.
The new AOA Pro III system uses
what the company calls a super-bright
custom LCD with 26 colored segments,
giving the pilot superior resolution. The
AFS AOA Pro III uses separate calibration data for flight with flaps up and
down, for a more accurate solution, according to the company.
The system includes a machined aluminum AOA display, AOA CPU module,
push buttons, flap switch, wiring harness,
AOA probe, 25 feet of tubing, and a detailed instruction manual. An optional
glare shield mounting bracket and heated
probe are available. The AOA Pro III is
available for certified airplanes.
To learn more about the AOA Pro III,
visit the company’s booth, 4139, in Exhibit Hangar D.
The other news in AOA indicators is
Bendix/King’s entry into the market with
the KLR 10 Lift Reserve Indicator. According to the company, the new offering
provides at-a-glance awareness and au-

dible cues of remaining lift “in an easy-toinstall, easy-to-read device.”
Other features include light weight,
low power consumption, and easy installation. Visual and audible cues provide an
alert of decaying lift much earlier than traditional warning systems, helping ensure
quick and timely correction. The KLR 10
is independent of pitot-static systems, so
it can be used even if the existing air data
system is compromised by ice, water, or
other contaminants. The KLR 10 is being
marketed for experimental aircraft. An
optional heated probe is available.
To learn more about the KLR 10, visit
Bendix/King’s booths, 289-292, in the
Main Aircraft Display, and Booth 2162 in
Exhibit Hangar B.

Attend the EAA annual member
meeting Wednesday
To allow more EAA members to attend
their annual membership meeting at AirVenture, the meeting has been moved from
its traditional Saturday morning time slot
to Wednesday morning, July 31, 8:30 a.m.
at the Theater in the Woods.
“We’d heard from numerous members
that the Saturday morning meeting was too
late in the week for them to attend. Thus,
most years that annual meeting attendance
was quite sparse,” said Jack Pelton, EAA
chairman of the board. “We also want to see
more members at their annual meeting, have

them meet and talk with our board members,
and also update them on their organization’s
current status and future direction.”
The annual meeting will continue to
include the election of EAA board members, business and financial reports, a
period for questions to the board from
members, and this year a vote on restated
EAA Articles of Incorporation.
In order to vote for EAA board members at the annual meeting, EAA members must bring their current, valid
membership card.

TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2013

ÂŠ2013 FedEx. All rights reserved.

When it comes to the aerospace and
aviation industry, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re big fans. FedEx
admires and supports EAA AirVenture
for their contributions to pushing
boundaries, and therefore, pushing us
towards the future.

45

46

AIRVENTURE TODAY

What’s happening in Vintage
Here’s what’s happening in the Vintage
area today.
Round Engine Rodeo
Steve Curry, Radial Engines Ltd.,
has five display engines on hand for
all to see. The engine display is located
just inside the main entrance of the
Vintage Hangar.
Tips for restorers in hands-on workshop
Each day the Vintage Aircraft Associ-

ation (VAA) hosts a hands-on workshop
in the Vintage Hangar next to the VAA
Red Barn. These daily workshops will
cover a variety of topics to help owners
maintain their vintage aircraft.
VAA metal workshop
Workshop conducted by Roger
James, D & D Classic, Covington, Ohio,
on unique metalwork such as making
compound curves for cowling, wing root

Are You seeking a new career?
2013 AirVenture Job Fair
Noon to 3 p.m. | Wednesday, July 31
College Park, presented by American Airlines
Meet with notable aviation companies and other
interested employers searching for potential candidates.

fairing strips, and instrument panels.
Southwest corner of the Vintage Hangar,
9 to 5 daily.
Hand propping demonstration
Each day at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., see
a detailed hand propping demonstration
in front of the Vintage Hangar.
Vintage in Review
Tuesday, 11 a.m., features Ray Johnson with Dave and Jeanne Allen, of El-

bert, Colorado, and their 1934 Waco
YKC with a Jacobs 275-hp engine. The
Allens completed the restoration on
June 18.
Sarah Wilson, owner/pilot of the
1929 Stearman 4E Junior Speedmail, will
then answer questions about her beautifully restored airplane and detail some
of the historic roles this aircraft has contributed to aviation history.

Hilton Software delivers WingX
Pro7 advanced weather app
Hilton Software LLC’s WingX Pro7
is a mobile app that allows users to
graphically visualize and predict
weather with aid from Baron Services’
weather reports.
The app won “Best iPad App of 2012”
by Aviation Consumer Magazine and is
available via the Apple App Store and
Version 7 is available as a free upgrade to
current users of WingX Pro.
The app allows users access to Baron’s weather information, including
NEXRAD, Visible and IR Satellite, Echo
Tops, Surface Analysis, and Contoured

Surface Wind Speed, as well as others.
“Pilots deserve the most advanced
aviation technology and weather graphics at their fingertips,” said Dr. Hilton
Goldstein, founder of Hilton Software.
“By working closely with Baron Services,
we have combined two best-of-breed
products to create an unbelievable aviation platform.”
Hilton will have all of their software
on display at booths 2095 and 2096 and
will be periodically demonstrating their
capabilities on iPad, iPhone, and iPad
mini mediums.

STC granted for external GoPro
camera mount
Airborne Sensor LLC received approval of
its Eagle360 camera pod for 52 GA aircraft
types. Designed and priced for GA pilots,
the pod can hold up to four GoPro cameras to cover all angles of flight.
The Eagle360 will be on display in Hangar C at Airborne Sensor’s booth, 3139. If
you order an Eagle360 during AirVenture,
you will receive a free GoPro Hero3 Silver
Edition camera.
The company also has demonstration
videos of Eagle360-equipped aircraft fly-

ing by popular destinations like New York
City and the Grand Canyon, and air-to-air
videos with other equipped aircraft.
“It’s like having your own personal U-2,”
said CEO Dave Tenenbaum, who is a former photojournalist and a pilot of 30 years.
The company states that the Eagle360
“was designed to be affordable for any pilot, and still deliver quality that satisfies
people with unlimited budgets.”
The unit costs about $1,600 and GoPro cameras normally retail between $300-$400.

EAA AirVenture 2013 security
contact information
In the event of an emergency situation,
call 911, or contact the 24-hour EAA Security service at 920-234-7754. Both the

EAA and Camp Scholler Security stations are located just west of the Red Barn
Camp Store in Camp Scholler.

TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2013

Introducing the X700 Signature Series — innovation at its finest
What does a tractor have to do to earn the John Deere signature? It has to go through rigorous testing.
It has to mow flawlessly—even in knee-high grass—in every weather condition. With full-time 4-wheel
drive, 4-wheel steering and a drive-over mower deck with AutoConnect,™ the new X700 Signature Series
Tractor is a fully loaded mowing machine. We call it our Signature Series for a reason.
John Deere is the official Utility Vehicle provider of the EAA for 2013.
John Deere’s green and yellow color scheme, the leaping deer symbol and JOHN DEERE are trademarks of Deere & Company. 13-56302

47

48

AIRVENTURE TODAY

Bearhawk develops two new kits
Bearhawk Aircraft has announced the
development of two new kit planes.
Bob Barrows, designer of the fourplace Bearhawk and two-seat tandem
Patrol, has designed a Bearhawk LSA
kit, following many requests from consumers. Delivery on the quick-build
kits has already begun, and the first

AEROSHELL
PILOTS

group of kits has already all been sold.
The second kit is a Patrol SP (seaplane)
that was designed following customer requests to have two doors on their Patrols, as
well as factory-built rear float attach fittings.
Visit Bearhawk Aircraft at Booth
630, or call 877-528-4776 or e-mail
info@bearhawkaircraft.com.
PHOTO BY PHIL HIGH

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK OF
THE AEROSHELL BRAND
We’re looking for pilots who currently use
AeroShell products. Come by booth C 3072
between 12:00 and 14:00 on July 29–31 to let
us know what you think of the AeroShell brand.
We look forward to receiving your feedback.

Shell Aviation

Av_Today_4.75x5.25.indd 1

12/07/2013 09:38

Concorde Battery discontinues
CB battery line
A decline in flooded battery demand, and
an associated rise in its manufacturing
costs, has led to the cancellation of Concorde Battery’s CB product line, the company announced today.
Concorde’s sealed lead acid battery
technology provides more efficiency,
more power, and more convenience than
traditional flooded battery technology,
and customers in droves shifted to the
sealed RG(r) series battery over the CB
flooded battery.
So well-received is Concorde’s RG(r)
sealed lead acid batteries that in 2012
Aviation Consumer awarded the design
its “Gear of the Year” award for best aircraft battery.
Still, out of respect to loyal flooded
battery customers, Concorde continued

to manufacture CB batteries for years despite the conflicting decreased demand
against the increased costs. After serious
and lengthy consideration, Concorde
decided it was in its customers’ best interests to discontinue the CB flooded
battery line.
Concorde designs and manufactures over 90 models of original equipment and direct replacement batteries
for fixed-wing and rotary aircraft.
The company also has an excellent
reputation for designing applicationspecific solutions.
Concorde batteries are installed as
original equipment by the majority of
aircraft manufacturers and adopted by
military aircraft operators worldwide. See
Concorde in exhibits 2053, 2054.

World Directory of Light Aviation
Available at all EAA-Sales Outlets during AirVenture
2013 for only $ 16.50. (ask for EAA member discount)
Or order online:
- www.shopeaa.org
- www.widola.com
also in selected bookstores.
Available in English, and also in
German, French and Chinese
language editions.

Get around Oshkosh
with GO Transit
GO Transit buses run
Sunday through Sunday,
providing an inexpensive
way to get around the city.
Single one-way rides are
available for $1.50 each,
or get a weeklong pass for
just $20. They are available at the Gruenhagen
Conference Center (UW
Oshkosh dorms area).
The route starts at
Gruenhagen to the EAA
main gate and back, with stops at Wittman Regional Airport and the Oshkosh Transit Center during the return
trip. The schedule is as follows:
• Monday-Thursday, July 29-August
1: 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Friday, August 2: 6:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
• Saturday, August 3: 6:30 a.m.-
11:30 p.m.
• Sunday, August 4: 6 a.m.-3 p.m.
At least two buses will run each
hour, with more frequency during
peak travel times. Stops at Wittman

Regional Airport will not be made
after 3:40 p.m., but there is still an
EAA shuttle service for anyone needing to get to the terminal building after
that time.
Inclement weather may cause delays, and when traffic is reversed at
5 p.m. the buses may use the campground route to access the main gate if
traffic gets too bad.
Questions? Call 920-232-5340
or v i s it t h e G O Tr a n s it w e b s it e ,
www.RideGoTransit.com.

RUNWAY

EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH

A Charity
R
Oshko un/Walk p
sh Ar
ea Un roceeds benefit
ited W
ay

Your next career could be
right here in Oshkosh!
EAA has the following positions available:
Director of Information Technology
Director of Strategic Commercial Relationships
Manager of Membership Marketing
Volunteer Coordinator
Web Developer/Project Manager
Learn more by logging on to www.EAA.org/careers
Or, see us at the AirVenture Job Fair
on Wednesday, July 31, 12 - 3 p.m. in College Park.
Ask us about future internship opportunities!
College Park is presented by American Airlines.

Saturday, August 3, 2013
EAA AirVenture Grounds, 7 a.m.

Run or walk the NEW unique aircraft-lined route
around EAA’s AirVenture grounds. Participants
will receive Saturday admission to EAA AirVenture, which
includes concerts, Rockwell Collins Night Air Show, and
fireworks capped off by the “Wall of Fire”, special event t-shirt
and complimentary post-race snacks and water.

ome people are upset that the FAA
granted the ICON aircraft petition
to increase the maximum takeoff
weight of the A5 LSA amphib above the
1,420-pound certification limit. But the
FAA has followed well-settled precedent
in granting the exemption to ICON.
The FAA found that the spin-resistant
flying qualities of the A5 deliver the equivalent safety level of the lighter maximum
weight in the standard LSA rules. That is

the very logical rules flexibility that most
of us want to see from the FAA.
And this type of significant certification rule adjustment is nothing new. One
of the biggest previous examples of such a
rules change came back in the 1980s when
the FAA created the commuter category
of the FAR Part 23 light airplane rules.
Several turboprop regional airliners
were limited in payload and usefulness
by the maximum takeoff weight of 12,500

pounds for Part 23 airplanes. Clearly airplanes like the Beech 99 and Merlin Metro
could carry more weight. But the 12,500
rule forced any heavier airplane into the
much more restrictive FAR 25 transport
category that includes huge jets such as
the Boeing 747.
The FAA decided that if an airplane
could demonstrate safe engine-out performance, has good redundancy of systems,
and the pilot has a type rating, it could
move into a new commuter category and
fly at weights greater than 12,500 pounds.
The commuter category worked.
Several turboprop regional airliners
qualified, but more importantly, newly
designed light business jets could also
qualify. Several models of the Cessna CJ
family, Embraer Phenom 300, and others
are certified under those commuter rules.
So ICON is the first airplane to get
relief from the LSA weight cap. And to
companies that have struggled to keep
their LSA under the weight limits that
may seem unfair. But the reality is that
somebody had to go first, and then others
can point to that precedent and seek their
own exemptions from the rules.
The FAA actually operates much like
the courts in the United States. There are

laws, of course, but those laws must be interpreted and that’s what courts do. And
judges look back at previous decisions to
find precedent for a case before them.
The FAA considered the significant
safety value of an airplane that won’t spin
even though full pro-spin controls are applied and held. It then looked back and
found many precedents where imposing
different safety standards achieved the
objective of the rule in the book, but in
a different way. Just as the added requirements of the commuter category more
than made up for the slight risk of a heavier airplane.
ICON spent the time and lots of money to develop and demonstrate its spinresistant A5 without any assurance the
FAA would grant the necessary weight
increase exemption to account for the
larger and heavier wing needed. It was a
gamble. And now it has paid off. Instead
of gaining an unfair advantage over other
LSA makers, ICON has actually paid the
initial cost for any who want to follow.
For other LSA designers and builders
the route forward is clear. You, Mr. FAA,
let ICON do it, and if I meet the same standard, you must allow me to weigh more,
too. That’s how progress is made.

lasair announced the progress
of a diesel Sportsman and congratulated a group of high school
builders on Monday.
Glasair continues to move forward
with partner DeltaHawk diesel engines as they work to produce a diesel
Sportsman as a build option for the Two
Weeks to Taxi program.
Dennis Webb, president/CEO of the
Wisconsin-based DeltaHawk, spoke
confidently about the progression and
hopes, along with Glasair, to have the
diesel model in the program by late
next year.
Nigel Mott, Glasair president, was very
excited to introduce the group of students
who successfully completed a Sportsman
in Glasair’s Two Weeks to Taxi program.
The students were sponsored in part
by General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s (GAMA) Build A Plane program, and everyone involved consid-

ered the program a great success.
“We at Glasair are very proud to
get young people involved in aviation,”
Mott said. “And we are honored to be
working with GAMA and their Build A
Plane program.”
GAMA President Pete Bunce returned praise to Glasair saying, “We
knew the Glasair staff were great plane
builders, but we had no idea how great
they were at mentoring and teaching
these young people.”
The students came from two different schools, one in Michigan and one
in Minnesota, and were given the opportunity after winning GAMA’s planedesign competition.
“These kids are rock stars this week,”
Bunce said. “And I’m proud of each and
every one of them.”
Visit Glasair in exhibits 253-254,
right off Celebration Way, and Delta
Hawk at Exhibit 257.

High school students’ work on a Sportsman wing completed the construction of two
Sportsman aircraft in Glasair’s Two Weeks to Taxi program.

Mooney Aviation Company is celebrating
60 years of manufacturing aircraft for the
general aviation community.
“This is a historic time for Mooney, and
being present at AirVenture is an opportunity to celebrate with our loyal Mooney
owners,” said CFO Barry Hodkin. “There
are over 7,000 airplanes in service…so
customer support is our top priority.”
Mooney is not currently manufacturing aircraft, but says there is reason for
optimism as the company weighs investment opportunities.
As part of the celebration, Mooney is
giving away commemorative T-Shirts to

Mooney owners at their exhibit booths,
174 and 175. You must bring a copy of
Mooney registration.
In addition to the shirts, Mooney is
happy to welcome Jack Wiegand to their
booth as well. Wiegand recently became
the youngest person to fly solo around
the world, and he did so in a Mooney
Ovation 2 GX.
Lee White, racing pilot and head of
Toyota Racing, will also be part of the
celebration, as he broke world records in
2000 in a Mooney 231.
An original 1955 M20 will also be on
display during the week.

A Mooney Ovation 2 GX.

Zodiac OBOGS on display
at Oshkosh
The Oxygen Division of Zodiac Aerospace is displaying its new on-board
oxygen generating system (OBOGS),
in a Cessna Turbo 206 at Zodiac’s
booths, 127-128, outside of Hangar D.
The OBOGS, which was featured in
e-Hotline, utilizes the company’s INFIN-

IOX system to supply a continuous flow
of oxygen to four people, up to an elevation of 25,000 feet.
The system can be used in existing
glass cockpit avionics, or as a standalone retrofit in an integrated display
panel.

Correction: Departure Briefings
Monday’s story about the new Departure
Briefing process noted restrictions to taxiing before 7 a.m. That may not be true for

all aircraft parking areas. In all cases pilots
must follow the times and procedures noted in the NOTAM.

TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2013

WELDING or
CUTTING?
LEARN FROM OUR EXPERTS

»
»
»

DAILY WELDING WORKSHOPS ON A FUSELAGE
PROVIDED BY TITAN AIRCRAFT
SPECIAL SHOW PRICING
WELDING AND CUTTING DEMOS

I like to stay ahead of my aircraft.
So if I’m 40 miles out with weather
rolling in, I’m listening to what’s
happening in front of me. AWOS.
Pilot chatter. A quick check with
flight service. Sometimes, there’s a
lot to decipher. But I need to hear
it clearly. Because when I do, I feel
confident. Prepared. In the moment.
And that allows me to just

Better sound can make all the difference,
especially where you go. Which is why, with 30%
greater noise reduction than conventional noise
reducing aviation headsets, the A20 headset
lets you hear more of what you need to hear.
While proprietary cushions and minimal clamping
force let you fly comfortably for hours. Meets or
exceeds TSO standards. Made in U.S.A.